Last Saturday, I skipped work at the market despite it being Mother’s Day weekend which would certainly have been a hands down fantastic cake-sales opportunity. Instead, we held a a joint birthday party for our daughter S with her classmate K.

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We invited all the kids from their class. And for the entertainer, we chose the Animal Man Nick to come give an AMAZING show with his private collection of exotic animals! Nick brought over his red foot tortoise, tarantula (!), giant African land snail, giant black millipede, meerkat, chinchilla (v.cute), tawny owl, emperor scorpion, skunk (!), bearded dragon & to finish the show, a large black snake. Thanks to the show & to K’s mum who was fantastic to be organising the party with, the party was a big hit. Phew…! ^^

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To go with the theme of animal, I made two birthday cakes – a bear & a cat shape – for each of the birthday kids to blow their candles on. I suppose I could have taken the inspiration for my choice of which animal to make from Nick’s exotic animals, but it would’ve been more of a challenge to shape I think & perhaps not so cute or tasty-looking…!? (a bearded dragon shaped cake…?!) Lol!

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(Chocolate bear.)

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(Chantilly Cat. I studied Hello Kitty for the features.)

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(♥ Together ♥)

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To make the dome shape, I buttered then cling-filmed the inside of a mixing bowl. Next, carefully lined a sheet of genoise sponge (baked in a roulade pan) in the internal wall. After that, just like when assembling lasagne, there are alternate layers of cream, strawberry, sponge. A while of refrigeration later, it is set enough to de-mold out to the plate to then decorate.

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The facial features are made from chocolate. Shapes are piped out on to a baking sheet, then once solid, used the reverse-side (the side that was touching the baking sheet) as the front because it is flatter & matt. These are simply stuck on directly to the cream on the cake.

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The cream is simple chocolate chantilly piped with a closed-star tip.

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x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x . . x

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A spherical cupcake to take away!

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Don’t know about how it’s done elsewhere, but here in the UK, it seems to be the norm for the invited children go home from the party with a slice of the birthday cake.

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Instead of hastily cutting the large cake during the party, which, not only can it be stressful while entertaining, but can potentially become a messy affair, what with the cream & all, I opted to bake 30 individual cupcakes that is easier to give out. It is also easier for the children to hold.

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– Besides, there was a cake idea I’ve been meaning to try out, & it seemed a good opportunity to invest my time & effort in to it.

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(… with milk, white & strawberry chocolate features.)

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(Snuggly sitting in a mini-muffin case!)

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(I made thirty!)

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To make the animal cupcakes, I baked semi-sphere sponges using silicone moulds. Using a cupcake corer/ plunger, I cut out two circular discs which was used to form the ears. The cake was again made from genoise, but any sponge recipe will work so long as there is enough flour in it to form the pillar structure to keep it’s domed shape without it deflating. The recipe will have to have enough butter content too so it de-moulds cleanly, but then again, the cake must not be too heavy on butter either, as that leaves the paper cupcake casing with greasy imprints.

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(I stewed down raspberry jam & filled the hole where I cored out the ears.)

Oh my god Tamami! These cakes are absolutely adorable! Well done! I like the bear cake the best and I can see why you might want to put that as the first image. The piped creme looks like fur almost. Also I think the spherical cupcake idea is ingenious.

Hello Louise!!!!! Thank you very much!!! I’m so happy you like the cakes!! Yes, I think the chocolate bear cake is probably my favourite too! I like the idea that it looks like fur – thank you. D thinks it looks crocheted! – The cupcakes, I’m considering start selling them down the market!! x

The cakes look great! It looks cute and also tasty. A lot of stylised confectionary are adorned with too much color and although they might look good they do not look tasty, but yours does! So well done!

Hello Awesome! Thanks!
I seriously know what you mean about how some decorated cakes doesn’t get the appetite going! I think it’s because some of those cakes use un-natural colours, & one’s brain is sending signals that ‘that’s not right to eat’!! x

Happiest of Birthdays! :) Such cute cakes! Around here, cake/ice cream is served during the party. Depending on what time it’s held, there might be a light supper, like pizza. Most children go home with ‘goodie bags’ (small toys &/or candies).

Hello Jonquil!! Thanx!! The children our end also get goodie bags to take home too, mostly cheap toys & candies, that usually cost around£1 to £2 per bag! And also light food, mostly tiny sandwiches, and cucumber/ carrot sticks / grapes. The party is usually 2 hours long, & a lot of the parents hire school halls or local community rooms for the venue! x

Those cakes are very creative, so cute! I’ve been doing some research on how to start a market stall in London and stumbled across your blog – you seem to have a lot of experience in the matter. I have a lot of questions like.. where to rent a commercial kitchen? How to get a licence? I’d really appreciate any advice you could give me!

Hello Lum, sorry for the late reply, I was baking for my market on Saturday!
– About your questions, y’know what, the best place to ask those questions are to your local council, either where you live, or where the market of your choice is. It’s where you get your licence, & quite probably have a list of commercial kitchens in your area! – One extra tip, every market has a waiting-list of people/ businesses trying to get a pitch. It’s best to get on the list asap! Good luck!! :)

I love the idea of personalized the cakes with bear face! It’s very cute! You made a good job! I know one bakery that is doing the same kind of birthday cake. It’s called Dunn’s bakery and it’s based in Crouch End in London. Try it!

If I can't make it to the market one week, I will post the news there, so please check my twitter if you plan on visiting me! :) Link from here!

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